Muslims remained a great power in this world for almost a thousand years. No
nation was able to compete with them with regard to knowledge and wisdom,
political acumen and affluence. They reigned over the whole world during this
period. This kingdom was given to them by God and it was God who has taken it
away from them. The law of God regarding the rise and fall of nations is that
for rise He selects whichever nation He wants to according to His law of trial;
however, once He selects a nation to elevate it, He only changes this state of
that nation when that nation itself falls in decadence with regard to scientific
knowledge and morality.

Muslims are also faced with another scenario. By origin, most of them have been
Arabs. Arabs are mostly the Ishmaelites and about the Ishmaelites it is known
that they are the progeny of Abraham (sws). Hence they face the established
practice of the Almighty that is mentioned by the Qur’ān for the progeny of
Abraham (sws). As per this established practice, if they adhere to the truth
they will lead all nations of the world and if they deviate from the truth they
will be deposed from this position and will have to face the punishment of
humiliation and subjugation.

Hence if Muslims are afflicted with this punishment, then this is not a
haphazard happening nor is it the result of some conspiracy hatched by others,
as is generally alleged by our religious and political leaders. Behind this
punishment are specific reasons. The divine law of rise and fall of nations is
the cause of this punishment. If this punishment and humiliation is understood
in the light of this divine law, three causes for the downfall of the Muslims
can be pin-pointed:

Firstly, Muslims were entrusted with the Book of God. It is not merely a book.
It is the yardstick of God revealed to decide truth and falsehood. Muslims
should present all their religious differences before it and whatever verdict it
gives, they should accept it without any hesitation. It should be the basis of
their beliefs and deeds. It should be the source of all matters relating to
faith and sharī‘ah. Every research, every opinion and every viewpoint must be
kept subservient to it; so much so, even the words of the prophets of God should
not be considered authority over it; on the contrary, it should be regarded as
having authority over everything. Unfortunately, since the past many centuries
Muslims have not been able to confer this status on the Qur’ān in their beliefs
and deeds. Hence, as pointed out by Allāmah Iqbal:

خوار از مہجوریِ قرآں شدی

(You are in a state of humiliation because of leaving aside the Qur’ān.)

Secondly, this world is a place where harnessing potentials produce results.
These potentials can be harnessed mostly by having skill and expertise in
scientific disciplines. It is this skill through which man can access the
treasures which God has concealed in the heavens and the earth. History bears
witness that the life and death of man is mostly dependent on the competence he
has in these disciplines, what to speak of rise and fall of nations. From the
discovery of fire to the invention of the wheel to the astounding advancement
and developments of the modern era this fact can be read in every page of
history. Though Muslims did show interest in these disciplines yet their
intelligentsia mostly engaged themselves in the study of philosophy and tasawwuf,
though this was not the least required. The Book of God had already been
revealed with answers to questions which philosophy and tasawwuf grapple with.
Avid interest in these disciplines made Muslims oblivious to both the Book of
God and scientific knowledge. Our age old religious seminaries are still
teaching various aspects of philosophy and tasawwuf that can be called the best
examples of useless knowledge (‘ilmun lā yanfā‘ū). Thus we can see how far the
world has advanced while Muslims gaze in wonder at these advancements.

Thirdly, Muslims have shown an utter indifference to their moral instruction. It
is as a result of this disregard that lying, dishonesty, embezzlement, theft,
fraud, adulteration, devouring of interest, deceit in weighing, false
accusations, breaking promises, involvement in occult disciplines, labelling one
another with disbelief and defiance, worshipping graves, polytheistic rituals,
detestable forms of entertainment and other similar crimes are so common in
their societies that one is struck with wonder. It was these wrong-doings of the
Israelites on the basis of which the prophets of God cursed them and they were
eternally deprived of God’s mercy. Muslims too have gone far away from it. If a
person wants to take a glimpse at them, he should read the Gospel where Jesus (sws)
has stated the charge-sheet of the Israelites, of their scholars, their
intellectuals and their rulers. The whole milieu and situation of Muslim
societies cries out that they are even worse than the Jews in their
wrong-doings.

These are the reasons of the downfall of the Muslims. If they want to come out
of this scenario of decadence and downfall, then this can neither be achieved
through warfare nor resistance movements. The past two hundred years of their
history from Sarangapattam to Afghanistan bear evidence to this. To come out of
this they will have to take remedial measures to circumvent the causes that have
become the reason for their downfall; otherwise humiliation, disgrace and
subservience will always remain their fate. The law of God is unalterable.
Muslims are now in its grasp. When they want to come out of it by fighting
others, they are in fact fighting God because it is He Who has actually let
loose His strong men on them. This is God’s punishment. The line of action to
avoid it is not the one their religious and political leaders and self-styled
mujāhidīn are suggesting them. By adopting this line of action they can neither
thwart the influence of big powers in their countries nor can they oust the Jews
and Hindus from Palestine and Kashmir. They should study the preaching of the
prophets mentioned in the Qur’ān and the Bible. Whether the prophets of God come
in the time of the subjugation of Babylon or in the times of Roman emperors,
they never suggested this to their followers. They always informed their people
of their wrong-doings, while our leaders are adept at pointing out the faults of
others and censuring them. The Qur’ān is in our hands. We can read it from the
beginning to the end. We will not find a single word in it in condemnation of
the Babylonian and Roman emperors. At every place, the Israelites are presented
with this charge-sheet of their wrongdoings. The need of the hour is to recount
the charge-sheet of the wrongdoings of the Muslims because the promise of God
with the Israelites also holds for the Muslims. It was: “If you fill My covenant
I will fulfil your covenant; My mercy is waiting; however, if you tread on that
path, I will take the path I have already adopted and the lash of My punishment
will strike you.” Men of insight should learn a lesson from this!